No Greater Joy

No Greater Joy

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Dr. Grace

On January 31st my favorite college professor, Dr. Dave Reid, died in a skiing accident in Utah. He was 74. No surprise he was skiing at his age. He lived his life to the fullest and enjoyed the outdoors.

Dr. Dave was my Old Testament survey teacher as well as Hermeneutics and a couple of other classes. No one could fail his classes, thus he was known as "Dr. Grace". Some of his classes were "cake classes" and not because you didn't learn anything. He made learning fun and more important than his teaching was the investment he put into everyone he met.

I am most saddened that I will never get to go on his tour of the Holy Land. That was a dream of mine. I am thankful that he completed his work of recording talks of the entire Bible. His ministry reached beyond the walls of the college. More can be found at www.growingchristians.org.

So many people will mourn his loss for quite a while. College reunions will undoubtedly bring up conversations of "Dr. Daveisms" and remembering conversations and time spent with him. As a military wife I appreciate his wife. I never knew her, yet she was without her husband from Monday night through Thursday just so he could commute from Chicago to Dubuque to teach classes. What a trusting wife and an amazing dedication to the work of her husband.

I will forever remember the Walk Through the Old Testament (not enough to recite fully!), "Baaaaddddd Hermeneutics", "I'm so sorry", and many more quotes. I'll remember playing tennis with him, my ride from Chicago in the middle of the night with him, and talking to him in October and being impressed that he remembered who I was though I hadn't seen him in years. I'm thankful my oldest daughter could hear him speak. I remember earning grace points by playing in the OT band and classmates doing skits and just plain crazy stuff to earn grace points in his class. He was in a class where few reside. He was a model for all of us to look up to. Thank you God for the influence of such a man and I can only imagine he is having the greatest celebration now as he can hear the Old Testament stories from the prophets themselves. There is no doubt from anyone who knew him that he was greeted with "Well done good and faithful servant!"

Dr. Dave with his wife Margie (By Tim F.)

(By Linda W.)

In Greece

On top of Mt. Sinai at age 71!! (By Tim F.)


2 comments:

Steve Ulrich said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve Ulrich said...

I got teary eyes reading your tribute to Dr.Grace. I had him as well in 1983 and 1984. He was a great man. Steve Ulrich